2008 Summer

Before I announce the winners of this contest, I need to make a statement about potential conflict of interest that can occur in a contest of this type. Although most of you do not know who I am, I know who many of you are. When I open a contest of this type, I have no idea who will enter it. I cannot run a disclaimer saying that my friends and family are not eligible because most of them do not know who I am and would not know they should exclude themselves. Also because if I excluded everyone I was friendly with, we’d end up with very few submissions.

In the past, I have had close friends submit their stories to my contests but things have always worked out in a way where I did not feel conflicted about judging their stories. This time, however, a conflict presented itself due to the very few number of submissions in the Published Author category. I did not feel I could be unbiased in this area. Therefore, I had an editor friend of mine select the Publisher’s Choice winner in the Published Author category. She did not know the identity of any of the authors.

Winners: Please send me your mailing address within the next thirty days to claim your prize.

A very BIG thank you to the authors who provided prizes for this contest. I hope everyone who submitted a story took the time to read the sponsor bio page and to visit the websites of these very generous authors. If you haven’t, please do so today. It would also be nice if you sent them a message letting them know you appreciate their generosity.

For those of you who did not win, if you want to take credit for your work, please identify yourself in the comments section of your post.

“So you think this will really work?” Marie asked fancifully. She flopped her blond, lemon-pulp filled hair over to look at me, a sticky frosted donut in her hand. “The Internet article said it should” I replied confidently. Marie and I were lounged out in my backyard on two rickety beach chairs, the kind that […]

The summer night gripped him and he trusted it to conceal him. Anger it was that drove him on, fueling him to ignore the sweat that burned his eyes and the myriad cuts across his naked calves. Armor would not do on this night of stealth. Sometimes you need to sacrifice what you hold dear […]

Hot summer rain came down like the sky was sweating. I swear there hadn’t been a breeze for days. “I don’t think I can stand another minute,” I groaned. “I’m going to melt into a puddle of goo.” “Aw, Maddy,” said my best friend, Ardith, “you won’t be the only one.” “They’ll have to mop […]

We’ve got a few short story entries, but not quite enough for a full-blown contest. I’m extending the contest submission deadline through the weekend. You have until midnight, Sunday, May 11th, to e-mail your story to me. I’ll post all submissions on Monday, along with instructions on how to vote. Submission Guidelines/Contest Rules Contest Sponsors/Prizes

I was lying in bed this morning pondering the vagaries of memory. Most things that happened to me in the first ten years of my life are very hazy, yet certain things I remember, a Christmas present; a fight with my brother; a crash on my bicycle. These incidents take place in a disconnected way, […]

“Can I go, Mom? Please?” I danced from foot to foot in excited anticipation. “Please?” I said again, thinking being extra polite wouldn’t hurt any. My mother glanced up at me from the pile of mail she was going through, then looked over at Niki, already in her swimsuit with her face pressed up against […]

On the last day of school, I watch him jump from the top step of the canary yellow bus and land, both feet flat and dust flying, in the gravel road in front of our house. He stays with his knees bent for a moment, concentrating hard on something in the rocks beside his feet. […]

June 1984—Truth can be stranger than fiction. [What does this have to do with the story? A lead-in like this builds an expectation of huge coincidence or something really eerie. There’s nothing really strange about this story.] “Excuse me, Sir. Where can we get a marriage license in Salt Lake?” Tom Springer asked, hesitantly. The […]

Gracie plopped down in a lawn chair in the backyard. She felt a little tired after her flight, but too excited to rest. Her teenage grandson Josh sat nearby. “Have a good trip, Gram?” “Yes, but when do we start picking? If I knew where the patch was, I’d skedaddle down there right now.” “It’s […]

“Sherwood Forest,” Edward said, looking out of the window of the coach. “We’re almost at Nottingham, Marian.” Marian sighed with boredom. She was fourteen and used to being active all day, not shut up in a carriage that lumbered so slowly along the path that she could easily overtake it just by walking. At least […]

The July sun was just reaching its zenith when Mrs. Langley appeared on the sidewalk and stared down at the top of Mark’s head. “What are you doing?” she asked politely. Mark met her gaze square in the eye, his chin lifted proudly. “Sean and I are opening a lemonade stand.” “I see that. Can […]

Don’t forget the Celebrating Summer Story Contest going on NOW! I’ve got rules! I’ve got sponsors and prizes! What I don’t have is entries! I’ve made this contest as easy as possible. The genre and context are wide open. All you have to do is place your story in the summer—or in the winter, wishing […]